EU-Africa,sched-2ndlead
Kadhafi upsets first Europe-Africa “renewal” summit with anti-West tirade
by Lachlan Carmichael
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ATTENTION -with Kadhafi, debt cancellations, meetings ///
CAIRO, April 3 (AFP) - Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi upset the first EU-
African summit here Monday with an anti-Western tirade that defied European
calls for a fresh start with their former colonies.
In the last speech of the first day of the summit, Kadhafi denounced
capitalism, accused Europeans of hypocrisy towards Africa and urged them to
expel the US Navy from the Mediterranean, according to diplomatic sources.
European Commission President Romano Prodi said he was “strongly
disappointed” with Kadhafi’s speech after he had taken what he called a
bold step to meet personally with Kadhafi, long branded the head of a
terrorist state.
Prodi’s spokesman Ricardo Levi said the private talks earlier in the day
between Kadhafi and Prodi as well as other European leaders had been seen
as a chance to assess Libya’s “new ideas” after it began to rebuild bridges
with Europe.
But Kadhafi, dressed in flowing orange-brown robes, in the evening resorted
to his trademark fiery rhetoric, blaming capitalism for aggravating
Africa’s woes, and accusing Europeans of a hypocracy.
He said Europe was now colonized by the United States but could redeem
itself by expelling the Sixth Fleet from the Mediterranean Sea.
The summit had opened with speeches given by Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak, who called for more cooperation between Africa and Europe, and by
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, who voiced hope for a “moment
of renewal” with Africa.
In his keynote speech to the 15 EU and 50-odd African leaders, Mubarak
said: “We do look forward not to secure more aid, but rather to develop our
mutual partnership and cooperation program.”
Africans, Mubarak said, have made “sustained efforts”—including greater
political and economic freedom—to better their lot in the past decade, and
they expected Europeans to lend a strong helping hand.
Four years in the making, the two-day summit in the heavily-guarded, park-
like setting of Cairo’s convention center aims to forge a 21st century
“strategic partnership” between Europe and Africa, half of whose people
live in deep poverty.
The ultimate goal, in EU eyes, is for Africa to take its rightful place in
the emerging global economy—if it can slash poverty, and its 350 billion
dollars of debt—with economic and democratic reform.
“It is our profound wish that this most meaningful occasion should
represent a moment of renewal in the relations between our two neighbouring
continents,” said Guterres of Portugal, which holds the EU presidency.
He said it was unacceptable and unsustainable that Africa has been the
“main victim” of unfair global relationships.
Some countries announced concrete moves Monday to tackle the problem of
debt.
France said that it would cancel the whole of the bilateral debt owed it by
the poorest countries, while Germany said it would cancel 350 million
dollars in debt owed by nearly 30 countries over the next three years.
Both expressed the hope that other creditor countries would follow suit.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco told the summit that his country was also
cancelling the debts of the poorest African countries, and would lift
customs barriers on their products.
He called on European countries to do likewise, and to put into operation a
“comprehensive plan” for African development, similar to the one that
helped rebuild Europe after World War II.
Apart from Kadhafi’s one-to-one talks with Prodi and European leaders like
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and Italian Premier Massimo D’Alema,
British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook held “constructive” talks with
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, in the wake of London’s anger at a
weekend street attack on anti-Mugabe protesters in Harare.
In another development, Mohammed VI and Algeria’s President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika also held a meeting after years of strained ties between their
countries over the war in Western Sahara.
The EU and African leaders will hold two more working sessions Tuesday on
political and development issues, including human rights and poverty
eradication, before the summit closes in the evening.
The first day was devoted to economic issues.
bur/lc/js
sidi sanneh
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